GMM15 Review

Top Shows

Parkway Drive
Despite the jet-leg, those guys delivered a fantastic show, perfectly suited for a festival: Energetic, fast, sun was shining and no fillers or BS. The set list was great and even included a cover song, an amazing version of Bulls on Parade from  Rage Against the Machine. Even the new song is an instant classic. Kudos!

Arch Enemy
Despite the tough competition on the main stage (Alice Cooper), the Marquee was packed for AE! Alissa White-Gluz was outstanding and is now fully owning her role replacing Angela. Another fantastic set list combining the classics and only the best songs from the new album. The sound was good and the crowed was energetic and going nuts. I haven't seen that many bodies surfing in any other show this year.

Ne Obliviscaris
A small crowed for this relatively new band from Australia. Too bad because they are awesome. Their new album was by many considered one of the best albums of 2014. The 3 key songs from it were played, plus an older one. Yes, just 4 songs as they are all north of 10 minutes. Very technical progressive death metal including two singers and a violin. In a world of generic metal, good to see new blood with original and different music.

At The Gates
Here we had no surprises on the set list - which is great as it's an awesome one. Mostly based on the fantastic new album At War with Reality and their ground braking Slaughter of Souls. The crowed was not so big, maybe because they were recently headlining shows in the Benelux area. There was also some technical issues to get started but after that the sound was quite good.

Dragonforce
Not until the show started with a high pitched screen and the virtuoso guitar players entered the stage that I realized how much we missed power metal during this year's edition. That's a shame because Dragonforce delivered one of the most energetic and enthusiastic shows of the weekend. 4 songs of their recent and best album yet were highly appreciated, including an interesting cover song from Johnny Cash (Ring of Fire). Other than that they brought back an old song to the set list and obviously played their two big hits. Keep it true!

Exodus
I didn't know that Gary Holt wouldn't be there so that was a disappointment. Other than that the show was great. Heavily based on the excellent new album Blood In, Blood Out plus the classics Bounded By Blood, Black List and Toxic Waltz. Good sound and very energetic...such a great old school thrash show made me realize also how much this edition missed thrash bands.

Evergrey
One of the few power progressive representatives Evergrey didn't disappoint and a very crowded Metal Dome saw a fantastic show balancing the new good album and mandatory classics.

Slipknot
After many years the arrival of their 5th studio album finally convinced me and even though I've seen them before, this was the first time I actually enjoyed it. 9 maniacs full of energy putting up such a great show and now they have all these new great songs to create a massive set list. No wonder they became such a huge headliner.

Faith No More
Not sure if it was Sunday late night or the band got some bad vibes from the audience, but Mike Patton and friends were not really friendly and enthusiastic. But to a fan like me, that wasn't a problem at all. Not sure what people expected, but if you know their new album and have been following what they are doing in this tour, then there were no surprises. Set list was perfect with only great songs. Maybe the encore could've been better. FNM is such a unique band, I wouldn't expect that people who don't know their albums to really like it . Feels like people want more of the same...so many generic bands played this year.

Judas Priest
My only problems here were that the sound was very bad and the crowed was apathetic. I know they are old, but they are the Metal Gods! The set list was so good, specially the first half.

In Flames
The set list was fantastic, the energy was high, the crowed was insane and the weather great! A perfect mix - except for the sound that was not really loud enough and too much bass-drums.

Avatarium
What a great band and fantastic front woman. Only great songs and very enthusiastic musicians, Why not a top show? The sound could be better and the timing a bit later to get more people in.

Lamb Of God
Great show, energetic, fast, and the sun was shining. The set list was great but two songs of the new album may have broken the sequence a bit. I was expecting the crowed to be more enthusiastic though. Headlining the Marquee may work better for them.

Blues Pills
Basically the same comments as Avatarium! Just 70s rock instead of Doom!

Kiss
We've seen they before right? And we got more of the same tricks, movements and comments...but this time with half of the "team". With that said the set list was really great, so still enjoyed it very much.

Good Shows
Cannibal Corpse: Very good show in the packed Marquee, a roller coaster of brutal Death Metal song after song.
Five Finger Death Punch: Not particularly fan of the set list and also the sound wasn't good. Lift Me Up was worth the show.
Scorpions: Too vanilla? Nothing really special, many solos and ballads..cheesy crowed.
Slash: It was a good show, but it didn't really get me pumped
Ensiferum: Also good band and I really like the new album, but I didn't know other songs and couldn't hear the vocals.
Danko Jones: Great rock n roll show - went well with sun and beer!
Airbourne: It was a good show, but it didn't really get me pumped either

Worst of all: Sonata Arctica

The Top 12 albums that shaped my musical life

Powerslave by Iron Maiden
What's more perfect than Powerslave's cover? Back when I was 8 I was fascinated by its cover, mostly because I loved drawing and ancient history. Honestly, that's how I got this album in the first place. But then "Flash Of The Blade" and "Rime Of The Ancient Mariner" blew my little 8-year-old mind and I was "into metal" at such an early age. The only explanation I have it's because it was meant to be, it was in my blood. Later I was in love with the whole album and went back and bought all the available releases. From that moment until today, I'd impatiently wait for every Maiden's new studio album. In 1986, after buying everything from the S/T to "Somewhere  in Time", I started searching for bands that would sound like Maiden...Without a shadow of doubt, it is my favorite band of all times.

Appetite for Destruction by Guns N' Roses
Before the internet and when living down in Brazil it was difficult to keep track with what was going on in the US and Europe metal scene. Still, I was frequently checking music magazines and in 87 started to hear about this new band. I was very interested but couldn't buy it in Brazil yet. I remember asking around in a shopping mall and the vendors had never heard of it. Eventually, it arrived and I was addicted to it instantly. It is a great album that brought GNR to the mainstream during the glory days of hard/glam rock. I pretty much lost interest after this record. But more importantly, it opened the door for me to dive into the hard rock genre. I was then buying Def Leppard, Bon Jovi, Great White, Faster Pussycat, Poison, Cinderella, you name it...most of those I don't listen to anymore, but Appetite for Destruction is different, it's actually the only Guns album that I really like it.

...And Justice for All by Metallica

During my first visits to the record shops, AJfA was just being released and highly recommended by the vendors (remember internet didn't exist). So luckily I trusted them and bought it. No surprise that it was love at "first listen". I couldn't stop listening to "Harvester of Sorrow" and soon the whole album. I then moved down the discography and got them previous 3 records. But still today, AJfA is one of my favorite Matallica albums, maybe second to "Master of Puppets". It also opened the door to the thrash genre and got into Testament, Megadeth and Sepultura.

Live in the U.K. by Helloween
During my quest for Maiden-like bands, I bought Helloween's "Live in  the UK". I remembered being blown away by Kiske's vocals. The Keepers are still and will always be the best Helloween and among the top power metal albums of all times. That's when my love for Power Metal was born and would reach its pick in the late 90s.

The Wall by Pink Floyd
Bruce left Iron, Helloween went downhill, so did (in my view) Guns and Metallica. Metal was in crisis, so I started to get interested in the roots of Metal. Deep Purple, Rainbow, Led Zeppelin and so on. But it was progressive rock, starting with Pink Floyd's The Wall that got me hooked. I think everything has been said about this masterpiece. From The Wall I went into their whole discography and  Pink Floyd became one of my top 3 all-time favorite bands. It also open the doors to progressive music in general, specially Rush.

A Hard Day´s Night by The Beatles
I decided to go and explore the roots of rock and started browsing my parents' vinyls and "A Hard Day´s Night" was chosen. They did have other Beatles albums (but no Rolling Stones). To this day, I still love this album. It's not my Beatles favorite, but it was the first, the others followed. The title song and "Tell Me Why", "When I Get Home"  have already a fast pace and "heaviness" for its time.  The same goes for the hit "Can't Buy Me Love" - I used to "cover" it and sing along as a heavy metal song. Back in the day, I was huge fan of the ballads "If I Fell" and "And I Love Her". In sum, a sing along 31-min masterpiece that was the springboard to music, The Beatles, rock and later metal...

Surfing With The Alien by Joe Satriani

Also in the early 90's as I started playing and studying guitar, my taste shifted into not only classic rock but also jazz and instrumental bands. Among those, guitar heroes like Satriani, Steve Vai and Steve Morse were my favorites and "Surfing with the Alien" is the one album that got me started. With the guitar book in hands, I listened to this album over and over again and tried to play along. It is a fantastic album, Satriani at his best.

The Time of the Oath by Helloween
At some point back in 96 I was busy revisiting and enjoying classic rock. But a ride I took with the brother of a friend of a friend, changed my life again. This crazy MF was singing along a powerful song at full volume and I asked - what's this? Sounds great! and He said it's the new Helloween. I couldn't believe it! The band I once loved so much in the 80's was back with a powerful and modern sound. Metal was back, specifically Power Metal. I bought this album a couple of days later and soon after Master of the Rings.

Painkiller by Judas Priest
After Helloween's The Time of the Oath got me back into metal, I realized that the sound I was in love with (specially the singing style) was pretty much influenced by the pioneer Judas Priest. I taped and listened to Painkiller. It later became one of my favorite albums of all times and Priest one of my favorite bands. Painkiller initiated the process and led me to discover their whole discography.

A Tribute to Judas Priest: Legends of Metal
Some time after I got into Priest and back into Metal, a double tribute album was released. This tribute triggered me to discover new bands that became my favorites for the years to come: Fates Warning, Gamma Ray, Mercyful Fate, Rage, Iced Earth, Blind Guardian, and Stratovarius. Those bands started the Power Metal years. It was basically the only sub-genre of metal that mattered to me.

Theli by Therion
I'm not sure exactly when, but with the turn of the century, I started to get a bit bored with Power Metal and its repetitive musical and singing style. As far as I can remember, it was Therion that opened the road to extreme metal and broke the power metal dominance. Of course it was a gradual transition as Therion is not that heavy. But ultimately it was this masterpiece that open the doors to death, black, gothic, symphonic and all the other sub-genres of metal. The album itself is brilliant.

Clayman by In Flames
In the year 2000 when Clayman came out I was living in Canada. I was there not for long and was eager to experience concerts abroad. I heard about an In Flames show and even though I didn't know them, I bought their new album and a ticket. Children of Bodom was opening. This album and show completed the transition that Theli started. I then opened my horizon to any metal band that I would enjoy regardless of sub-genre and with no prejudice. 

Top Albums of Q1/2015

1. Steven Wilson - Hand. Cannot. Erase.
SW delivers an album that is emotional, dark and musically brilliant with highlight to the fantastic guitars and keyboard. HCE is an absolute masterpiece of modern progressive music.
Highly original and building on SW's style, but with "in your face" influences from  Simon & Garfunkel and late Beatles to Pink Floyd, Genesis, Steve Morse and Led Zeppelin. This musical journey is addictive! Once you start playing the album you want to enjoy the experience from start to finish while entering a sea of emotions with up-and-downs. Kudos!

2. Enslaved - In Times

Without repeating themselves but keeping their signatures, "In Times" is another great addition to Enslaved discography. "Only" 6 songs, with the shortest ticking 8:11! Each of those songs is a journey in itself, with ups-and-downs, that makes the album's 54 min fly by. The pathway into progressive metal continues, but with one new element: A subtle and interesting post-metal influence. Several moments it makes me think of Deafheaven which is fantastic. The clean and growling vocals contrast beautifully over a series of awesome riffs throughout the album. In sum, the Norwegians of Enslaved continue to evolve their magnificent and already proven sound with another masterpiece.

3. Blind Guardian - Beyond The Red Mirror

This album is certainly Blind Guardian's best album in many years. The sequel of the fantastic "Imaginations..." from 1995 has all the traditional BG elements: Epic, big choruses and complex arrangements. Additionally, as in the wonderful opener "The Ninth Wave", BtRM includes orchestra and choirs that beautifully add to mix. But differently than the last few albums, they tuned down a notch in the complexity, actually some songs are very direct and thrashy, like "The Holy Grail". Overall great album for old fans and power epic metal lovers in general.

4. Periphery - Juggernaut: Alpha/Omega
What happens when you put on a blender Meshuggah, Jazz Guitars, Slipknot and melody? Well, that's Periphery's double and conceptual album Juggernaut. But don't get me wrong, the albums are very concise and one song builds on each other. It's actually one album with two parts (Alpha and Omega). I really like the recurring themes and melodies throughout the album.
As previously, the songs mix extreme aggressiveness with melody and catchy choruses. And a bit more accessible than the previous albums. Spencer vocal range and variation of styles is even more impressive than previously heard. The guitar trio led by Mansoor is not only highly technical but also very original. This is where djent meets jazz. Loved the guitar solo on Rainbow Gravity for example. For the sake of modern metal, I hope Periphery stays on track and continue to grow!.

5. Danko Jones - Fire Music
The straight and direct punk-rock from the power trio Danko Jones is very entertaining. The vocal style makes me think that this is Metallica covering Bad Religion. That's not usually my kind of music, but couldn't help headbanging throughout the 37 min of rock-and-roll. Can't wait to see those guys in a summer festival afternoon. Cheers!

6. Neal Morse - The Grand Experiment

The almost 27 min "Alive Again" is the album's highlight. The opener "The Call" and title track are also great songs. The other two, not so much. The Yes and Rush influences are very clear, but in a modern and fresh way. As we would expect the keyboard solos and drumming from Portnoy are fantastic. Highly recommended progressive rock.  

7. Angra - Secret Garden

The fellow Brazilians have had their share of ups and downs and changes. I was never a big fan, but I certainly like many of their songs from different past albums. So when it came to check Secret Garden I was skeptical. But when "Newborn Me" started I was very pleased with the contribution of the outstanding Fabio Lione. And then the guitar solo including a Spanish guitar went by and I was sold. The rest of the record is very solid with fantastic vocals and guitar performances. The cherry at the top are the great contributions from Simone Simons and Doro.

8. Enforcer - From Beyond
The well written and executed speed/thrash metal from Enforcer pleasantly brings us back to the 80's. The thrash riffs and high-pitched vocals are the signatures here. The music is simple and straightforward traditional metal, nothing new. But, it is always great to enjoy this nostalgia from some current good bands.

9. Ensiferum - One Man Army
What I like about Ensiferum's new record is that their folk influences are there, but they don't beat around the bush and essentially deliver a very straightforward death metal. It's headbanging from start to finish while raising your beer glasses.

10. S.O.T.O - Inside The Vertigo
I've always been a fan of Jeff Scott Soto, most notably his contributions to Malsmteen and Axel Rudi Pell. And now he is back with a new band and a much heavier sound than latest works. The guitar riffs are worthy of a Lamb of God album, listen to "Wrath" for example. The almost 9 min "End Of Days" adventures into more epic and progressive areas. And "Inside The Vertigo" brings back the ARP feel. Overall a very strong and heavy record that combines the inspiration of many of his previous bands.

Fabio Top 20 Albums of 2014

And then another year went by, 2014...keeping up with 2013, I went through more than 100 new albums. This year's top records list was a real pain for me. There were so many good records that came out in 2014!
Overall here are my top 50 metal and metal related albums of this year, special attention to the top 25 that made the “cut” (like if anyone really cares).
I said “metal related” because this list is going to include some non-metal stuff, but obviously the vast majority is heavy. And note that I did not list any EPs, compilations or live albums.
The order is indicative as one release is not definitively better than another (Metal/Music is not a competition), so chill-out.
I really like making those lists even if nobody reads them – it makes me reflect on the year that went buy and revisit the emotions that each of those records brought up.

Here they are...

50. Animals As Leaders - The Joy of Motion
49. Black Label Society - Catacombs Of The Black Vatican
48. Hammerfall - (r)Evolution
47. Sinbreed - Shadows
46. Gamma Ray - Empire of the undead
45. Axel Rudi Pell - Into the Storm
44. Skintrade - Refueld
43. Vanishing Point - Distant Is The Sun
42. Primal Fear - DeliveringThe Black
41. Cannibal Corpse - A Skeletal Domain
40. Brainstorm - Firesoul
39. Entombed A.D. - Back To The Front
38. Portrait - Crossroads
37. Unisonic - Light Of Dawn
36. Malrun - Two Thrones
35. Savage Messiah - The Fateful Dark
34. Arch Enemy - War Eternal
33. Bigelf - Into the Maelstrom
32. Allen - Lande - The Great Divide
31. DragonForce - Maximum Overload
30. Novembers Doom - Bled White
29. While Heaven Wept - Suspended At Aphelion
28. Wovenwar - Wovenwar
27. Blues Pills - Blues Pills
26. Grand Magus - Triumph And Power

25.Slipknot - 5 The Gray Chapter

I have never been into Slipknot. But without prejudice, I gave this one a shot. Surprisingly, after one listen I dug it. More importantly, it grew on me after each time. I still not a fan of the scratching sounds and more chaotic songs. But overall Corey Taylor's voice, be it clean or screaming, the pounding drums, the modern heavy feel, the switch between heavy and melodic, all of that makes The Gray Chapter a very ferocious and emotional experience.

24. Scar Symmetry - The Singularity (Phase I - Neohumanity)

I believe this is first album to get these guys back on track since original singer left. The two singers now are in sync and delivering on the expectations. The album is heavy, but also progressive and melodic. Big choruses and catchy passages combined with aggressiveness and good musicianship. Hopefully the next parts of the trilogy will continue their evolution.

23. Opeth - Pale Communion

Addressing the elephant in the room: this is not a metal album. It's prog rock and it's awesome.
Great melodies, musicianship and impressive vocal performance from Mikael Åkerfeldt. Almost every song is strong and there are no fillers. Still, a little bit of heaviness would've been nice!

22. Killer Be Killed - Killer Be Killed 
We have to always cautiously look at those "super groups". In many occasions, it's an uninspired marketing play. But not KBK, of course I'm biased since I do like a lot the voices of Max, Puciato and Sanders. The fact that they smartly alternate vocals and their styles in almost every song is very appealing. Most of the songs are very catchy and enjoyable which makes it overall a great album. With that said, we were expecting more from it, maybe more aggressiveness or creativity.

21. Judas Priest - Redeemer Of Souls
The Priest is back! And with their best album since Jugulator, and containing the most "classic" songs since "Defenders of the Faith". It does feel they went back in time to record Redeemer Of Souls. Consequently, obviously there is nothing new here - but classic Priest must be in any metalhead's list!

20.Architects - Lost Forever // Lost Together

The metalcore album of the year. Not many nice stuff came out from this sub-genre. But those guys delivered a solid record. Very aggressive and well written while also melodic at times. The balance between the metal and hardcore is perfect.

19. Magnum - Escape From Shadow Garden

Epic! The word to define this great album. Great melodies, huge choruses, very catchy and well produced. Bob Catley's unique voice gives the final touch for this must-have album for epic/power metal lovers.








18. Primordial - Where Greater Men Have Fallen
An emotional atmosphere of power epicness.  That's how I sum up this amazing heavy metal masterpiece for metalheads.
The low build-up of songs culminating with big sounds and choruses is just perfect. Where Greater Men Have Fallen is Dublin's Primordial second best album ever.

17. Transatlantic - Kaleidoscope

This is such a great album! In a fresh and modern way takes us back to early Rush and Yes. This record makes the list because of two of the 5 songs: Into the Blue (25 min) and the title track (32 min), fantastic songs: full of time changes, solos and great melodies. Clearly I don't even have to mention the quality of those top musicians. The other 3 songs don't keep up, and Shine is a radio friendly attempt. Hence why it has dropped a few points in my list.






16. Pink Floyd - The Endless River

Never thought to be listening to a new Pink Floyd album again! Really enjoyed the experience - a journey through their own sound, almost like a self tribute. Even more satisfying is the fact that makes you want to go back and listen to the really old stuff...Endless River brings back moments from the first albums, from Wish You Were Here and The Wall, and obviously Division Bell. Not exactly original but still who in 2014 writes a 47-min instrumental intro for a 6 min song with vocals ( which is brilliant btw)? Very nice!


15. Rival Sons - Great Western Valkyrie

Rock N' Roll from the 60's revisited in an elegant way, bluesy guitar solos, keyboards a la The Doors, and and catchy choruses. After a few listens I dare you not to start singing along. The first 7 songs are a hit avalanche, with less inspired final tracks.









14. Iced Earth - Plagues of Babylon

Disclaimer: I'm a long term fan! So I listened to it with great expectations but also a certain bias. The first half of it is based on their Wicked World and is really good - probably the song sequence I listened the most this year. Second half looses its power which compromised the overall rating. The vinyl sounds great and Stu Block really grew on this record showing how versatile and good he is. I consider it the power-metal album of the year

13. Vanden Plas - Chronicles Of The Immortals - Netherworld

I'm long time fan but still I looked at this one with a very critical eye. And I still I loved it. This conceptual album brings 10 tracks that form a cohesive entity of a beautiful power progressive metal. Each track is unique and uses different elements and variations. There's no formula. The constants are: Great vocals, beautiful keyboards and outstanding guitar work on the riffs and solos. All of it without being over-the-top.

12. Threshold - For the Journey


8 tracks of unpretentious, well-written, melodic, cliche-free progressive metal. Great musicians and a suburb and original singer. Simply put, another amazing work from those guys. I heard an interview that they discussed that this could have been a self-titled album. I agree and that's because For the Journey has it all. Heavier tracks, a ballad, an epic 12-min masterpiece, and full of great riffs. All the elements that have been the signature of this great band.





11. Soen - Tellurian

A progressive masterpiece - think (new) Opeth meets Tool! Beautiful and emotional music and amazing vocals by Joel Ekelöf . Not to mention super talented musicians without being over-the-top. Stefan Stenberg is probably the bass player of the year. And the final cherry at the top: great album cover. A must have for progressive music lovers.






10. Exodus - Blood in Blood Out

This is a thrash metal lesson! It's now my favorite Exodus' record. It sounds so direct, classic and yet modern. And what a production! Gary Holt has always been a great guitar player and song writer, but maybe those years playing Jeff's songs and riffs inspired him to make a masterpiece of thrash guitar riffs (and solos). Steve Souza triumphant come back picking up from what he left in Tempo of the Damned. If you are a thresh metal fan, you can't not include Blood in Blood Out in the list, period!






09. Machine Head - Bloodstone & Diamonds

Modern, energetic, brutal, melodic...new MH has it all. It has even more than it should, If there is one problem that prevented this album to be a masterpiece is the 71 min with 12 songs. And that's a problem because the second half clearly looses power and feels like a filler fest. With that said, the first 7 tracks plus Game Over (8 songs, my magic number for a masterpiece) represent the best of what Robb Flynn and his band have presented us during their career. The album contain all the MH trademarks and touches at the different styles they have experiment since their magnificent debut.

08. Sanctuary - The Year the Sun Died

Straightforward heavy metal and yet sounding modern, that's how Santuary is coming back to life. And yet heavily influenced by the Nevermore sound. Therefore, this is nothing really new . But, the riffage and guitar solos are fantastic, the vocals are powerful and unique as you would expected, and the song writing flows like a powerful hit collection. Then again such a traditional heavy album for headbangers gotta be in this list!







07. Ghost Brigade - IV- One With the Storm

High expectations coming to this one, and that's because I loved the previous ones so much. IV-OWTS builds on its predecessors and further explores the beautiful melancholy of Ghost Brigade's sound. It's heavy without being noisy with a lot of time changes and alternating vocal styles. The way some of the songs build up it's magnificent and most of the time culminating with outstanding drumming.







06. Mastodon - Once More 'Round The Sun

Ok, it's not as heavy and experimental as early works, but still how good is this? - those guys are some of the best song writers out there! Yes, they are flirting with more accessible territory and sorry but that doesn't make it worse. The guitar work, unbelievable drumming, melodies with heaviness, the vocal changes...and one strong song after the other.







05. Decapitated - Blood Mantra

There's something about this record...when it came out I would use my headphones and listen to it over and over again. All songs are very strong - aggressive, grindy and groovy, modern and straightforward Death Metal.









04. Sólstafir - Ótta

This album is so original, I don't even know how to label it. Of course that doesn't matter, the fact is that it's an outstanding piece of art. An experience that you have to enjoy from start to finish, there are no flaws in this record. Several elements are used and Otta (which means "Fears" in Icelandic) presents a journey with beautiful and heavy ups and downs.







03. Behemoth - The Satanist

You can feel the emotions flowing out of this record. This emotion is the glue between the heaviness, speed and melody that makes this a masterpiece of extreme metal. No fillers, no cliches, 9 tracks in which Nergal poured all the emotions he had to deal with during recent years.








02. Triptykon - Melana Chasmata

When leading Hellhammer and then Celtic Frost, Thomas G. Fischer became one of the godfathers of extreme metal . Now with  Triptykon, he continues to push the boundaries of heaviness. While building on the predecessor and first  Triptykon record, Melana Chasmata goes beyond what most bands do nowadays. Artistic and emotional, this album demonstrate that you don't need to be loud, noisy, fast to be heavy. Fischer's song writing is remarkable, the combination of his growls, dark lyrics and black riffs all melt into a deep melancholic heavy experience.






01. At the Gates - At War With Reality

I actually didn't expect anything from At the Gates. But after the first listen, I just wanted to listen to it again and again. Another killer come-back album (after 19 years!).
The album opens with an unusual narrative in Spanish, and follows with one of the best songs of the year "Death And The Labyrinth". From then it flows with 45 min of the finest melodic Death Metal. One that has influenced so many death and metalcore bands since 1995's Slaughter of the Soul. When it comes down to it, the songwriting is flawless with crushing memorable riffs all over the place. To that you add, Tomas Lindberg's distinct voice screaming his lungs out with full emotion and then you have a deserved follow-up of the 95's classic album.

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Fabio's GMM 2014 Review

FRIDAY
Jeff Scott Soto
The good surprise of the weekend, as Devil You Know cancelled, I decided to see JSS whom I know very well from other bands (ARP, Maslmsteen, etc). The songs from those bands were the highlight – besides the medley Frozen/Crazy unexpected covers from his very good covers album.

Primal Fear
I’m a fan from their first album and this show confirmed that Ralf is one of the best power metal singers until today. Old classics and new songs from this year’s good album were a perfect blend…just too early and too short!

Triptykon
Dark, deep and intense show, as their outstanding new Album is! Two songs from it and two from the first CD and that was it, leaving the fans with a taste of “I want more” – but with songs typically over 10 minutes long, a festival set is too short for this magnificent band.

Steel Panther
Not the best show I have seen from them. First, I felt that the set list was suboptimal, then maybe the jokes are becoming repetitive? and finally too sexist and borderline offensive. They can make great songs and are obviously funny – but seems like they are going a downhill path…

Slayer
What’s left to say? Despite missing 50% of the original line-up, they are still an awesome live band – especially for festivals. No BS, thrash metal classics from the first minute to the very end. Thanks for the soar neck and damaged vocal chords!

Opeth
Another band that can only fit a few songs in a festival set, but that’s totally fine because they are awesome. The set list was very balanced, and luckily some very heavy tunes such as Heir Apparent. Those guys are such good musicians, great to watch.

A7X
I must confess I like their music, except for the new album which is a fabricated BS and it irritates me. But apart from that, the show was quite good and their performance flawless.

I also saw good shows from Annihilator and Sepultura.

SATURDAY
In Solitude
Good way to start day 2, In Solitude presenting a good show containing only songs (6) from the latest album (Sister). Musically it was great, but lacked a bit of connection with the audience, which at 12pm was pretty reduced.

Protest the Hero
I’m still working my way through their latest albums, progressive and complex – it does take time to fully appreciate them. Fortunately, this performance only helped! Outstanding musicianship, charismatic frontman and energetic songs

Gamma Ray
I’m a long term fan and have all their albums. But quite often I’m disappointed with their set lists. Rebellion In Dreamland is always worth the show, and now they also have the fantastic Avalon from the new album.

Mastodon
No question about how good they are. The new album, Once More 'Round The Sun, was presented with 3 great songs. Also great classics such as Crystal Skull and Megalodon. But the show lacked some connection with the audience. Maybe because it was relatively early and a sunny main stage.

TDEP
Maybe the best show of the festival. Pretty awesome set list, highly energetic (as usually), destruction on stage and the crowed going nuts.

Carcass
My 3rd show since the new album came out in 2013. No surprises, again a heavy metal class.

I also saw the shows from Nails, Trivium, and Dark Tranquility. None of each really impressed.


SUNDAY
letlive.
How good are those guys? The singer is so charismatic and spontaneous. The highlight was when he broke the watch that was there to keep bands on time. The set list was very energetic and balancing their both albums.

Anthrax
Every time I see them, it's one of my favorite shows. Of course I'm biased and screamed my lungs out! More thresh metal please!

Hatebreed
Played while Belgium was playing int he World Cup and I guess that drove the attention away a bit. But always an energetic metalcore show with their best hits.

Meshuggah
Unfortunately, I don't know their old stuff too well, so I didn't get into the mood. Additionally, by that time I was pretty tired (the age...)

Black Sabbath
I was impressed. I didn't think those guys can still pull it off. First time I saw Ozzy with Tommi...regardless of their age, priceless.

I also saw good shows from TBDM (too early), Comeback Kid, Black Label Society (not as good as previous appearances), BMTH and Architects (very good band!)

Fabio's Top 20 Albums of 2013

Wow, 2013...so many great releases, after more than 100 new albums, it was really difficult to select the tops ones. But regardless I put this list of my top 20 of the year.

20. Twilight Of the Gods - Fire on the Mountain
Primordial’s Alan Averill teaming up with other musicians from well known bands such as Dimmu Borgir to pay a tribute to Bathory and while doing that adding elements from Primordial and Manowar - the result was amazing. Seven tracks of flawless true metal as it should be. Even if without anything ground breaking, Fire On The Mountain makes you pump your first and loose your mind.

19. Amon Amarth - Deceiver of the Gods
There's nothing to surprise anyone here, those guys are very consistent (maybe except for the song Hel featuring Messiah Marcolin , ex-Candlemass). But there are at least 5 monstrous songs that have all an Amon Amarth fan would want: Melodic Death Metal exploding epicness. Also production with Andy Sneap touch is great; I had to get it in Vinyl!

18. Watain - The Wild Hunt
With The Wild Hunt, Watain expanded horizons without compromising themselves. Erik Danielsson incorporated clean vocals and even a "dark ballad", "They Rode On" which is influenced by Pink Floyd and an awesome journey. But don't get me wrong, there are other 8 blistering black metal assault tracks to satisfy older fans.
 
17. Ayreon - The Theory of Everything
Arjen Lucassen song writing, plus a selection of amazing but very different singers, top notch production, a story that feels like you are reading a book, and legends as guest musicians (Rick Wakeman, Keith Emerson, and others) - There you have it, a genius delivering a suburb album! It's not easy to digest, and the lyrics can be cheesy at times, but it doesn't take the beauty out of the record.

16. Heaven Shall Burn - Veto
"Land of the Upright Ones" may be my song of the year and also "Godiva" is not far behind. Then there are other 3 or 4 songs that get your head banging. Plus the fun Blind Guardian cover of Valhalla. There is nothing new compared to previous albums, but those "hits" are so good and there's so much energy in Veto that it's addictive.  
 
15. Five Finger Death Punch - TWSOHATRSOHV1
Volume 1 is a monster record - catchy choruses, riffing and brutality that tops everything they have done before. Special guests provide a glorious touch to it, especially Rob Halford. If the last two songs were replaced by volume 2 "Here to Die" and "Matter of Time" it would be among my top 5 albums.
 
14. Letlive. - The Blackest Beautiful
The Blackest Beautiful originally takes post-hardcore even further and add to it funk and other unusual influences. One of the most exciting and intimate shows I have ever seen. Musicality it's raw rage with emotion, aggressiveness and melody, just fantastic, a must have!

13. Rotting Christ - Kata Ton Daimona Eaytoy
Honestly, I did not know Rotting Christ, but gave it a try with this new album, and man, it's so good! The album is beautifully moving and melodic, full of dark passages, different languages. It takes you on a dark journey. I went back to their old stuff, and to me it's the band’s best album.
 
12. Fates Warning - Darkness In A Different Light
After 9 years without a new record, FW released this great album. It has all the elements that a FW fan would expect - progressive melodic metal with the well-known guitar style from Jim Matheos and the vocals from Ray Alder - suburb! Last 3 songs loose a bit the power, hence why it fell from the top 10.
 
11. Deafheaven - Sunbather
Sunbather was a very late entrant to my list and sky-rocketed to #11. One of the most intriguing extreme metal albums I have heard in quite some time. There's just something so strong and deep about Sunbather that I find myself hypnotized whenever I listen to it. It's black-metal, but it's not evil, quite the opposite it's very emotional and sad.
 
10. The Ocean - Pelagial
The Ocean nailed it, just brilliant, deserved the purchase of the Vinyl to fully appreciate this masterpiece! This is where heavy meats beautiful music. Incredibly well written, both musically and the conceptual lyrics.

 
9. Avatarium - Avatarium
Avatarium is the new band of Leif Edling (Candlemass, Krux) and this time with a female singer, Jennie-Ann Smith. Marcus Jidell (ex-Candlemass, ex-Evergrey, etc) plays some great doom riffs and added great melodic solos. The result is the best doom album of the year.

8. Atlantean Kodex - The White Goddess
As much as I love traditional Power Metal, it's been very difficult to see new good stuff coming from the genre, thankfully, Atlantean Kodex has reverted the trend. There's no filler at all on The White Goddess, long epic songs with awesome musical interludes that put you back in ancient Europe. It only dropped a few position in my list because I feel most songs could have been cut a bit shorter without loosing their power. Other than that, it’s just stellar traditional metal.
 
7. Avantasia - Mystery Of Time
I'm a big fan of Tobias Sammet's song writing and he has done it again, another brilliant Metal "opera". Honestly, Mystery Of Time brings nothing original, but it’s a well-written and displays epic power metal that I love so much. “Sleepwalking” is the only low point, can't take the pop flirting. Special guests make it even more special, amazing vocal works from Joe Lynn Turner, Michael Kiske, Biff Byford and even Eric Martin from Mr. Big.
 
6. Dream Theater - Dream Theater
This is the best Dream Theater album since"Train of Thought". It combines the heaviness of that album with "Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence" musicality, adding on top of it Mike Mangini showing what he has to offer and a very clear Rush influence. An opening track, an instrumental song, heavy songs, mid-tempo and an epic song, this album has it all. It’s a killer album deserving of the name Dream Theater.

5. Killswitch Engage - Disarm The Descent
I had huge expectations for this album after hearing that original vocalist Jesse Leach was the man deemed fit to replace Howard Jones. And those guys delivered it. Most songs are as good as anything from the classic first album and Jesse is singing much better than 10 years ago. It could have been the album of the year if Jesse had used a bit less clean vocals, basically the chorus of every song has clean vocals. Regardless, it's just a victorious come back from the metalcore masters

4. Witherscape - The Inheritance
Mastermind Swano new project is as instant classic. The clean singing is well balanced with concise growls, the riffs are great, production is top notch, and all of it very catchy. Plus, a conceptual story to follow. Let's just hope for a second album!

3. The Dillinger Escape Plan - One of Us is The Killer
I was lucky enough to see Dillinger Escape Plan this year for the first time, what a show! I had never seen them because this is actually the album that made me “get” their sound. Then I’ve gone back to older material and have found great songs and fell in love with their music, but this album is my favorite. It is insanely heavy and aggressive but also technical and melodic. Just couldn't stop listening to it!

2. Black Sabbath - 13
I don't care about forums, media and any drama on this "re-union", I just listen to the music, and it's great. Tony Iommi is the riff-master and the melodies are so catchy. Even if they were too inspired by their past-selves, who cares? They are still the same 3 guys and haven't worked together since 1978! For us who were not even alive during that era, it was great to have a taste of it.

1. Carcass - Surgical Steel
This is really awesome heavy music, period. Carcass is back after 17 years with "Surgical Steel" which takes the best moments of their previous three albums and melt them into explosive crushing metal at its best. The riffage is just so good, what a guitar work!

Awesome Bands That Are On My Top 45 List
21.The Black Dalia Murder - Everblack
22.Soilwork - The Living Infinite
23.Stone Sour - HoG&B2
24.Generation Kill - We're All Gonna Die
25.Hell - Curse and Chapter
26.Riverside - SONGS
27.Skeletonwitch - Serpents Unleashed
28.Oliva - Raise The Curtain
29.Kvelertak - Meir
30.Protest The Hero - Volition
31.Helloween - Straight Out of Hell
32.Airbourne - Black Dog Barking
33.Steven Wilson - The Raven That Refused to Sing
34.In Solitude - Sister
35.Hatebreed - The Divinity of Purpose
36.Audrey Horne - Youngblood
37.Dark Tranquility - Construct
38.Alter Bridge - Fortress
39.Death Angel - The Dream Calls for Blood
40.Queensryche - Queensryche
41.The Temperance Movement - The Temperance Movement
42.Pretty Maids - Mother Land
43.Haken - The Mountain
44.Zodiac - A Hiding Place
45.Cult of Luna - Vertikal

Honorable  Mentions:
Clutch - Earth Rocker
Motörhead - Aftershock
Stratovarius - Nemesis
Bleed From Within - Uprising
Satan - Life Setence
Cathedral - The Last Spire

Biggest Disappointments:
Ghost
Volbeat
Avenge Sevenfold

Best Shows:
King Diamond - GMM2013
KSE - Melkweg, Amsterdam
Letlive. - Trix Club, Antwerp

Worst Show:
Volbeat - Fortarock

Fabio's GMM 2013 Review

Heathen: Awesome start, very good band, thrash and progressive-ish

Grave Digger: I like the band, but set list was disappointing

Asking Alexandria: They sure have a fan base, made a great impression

Helloween: Good show

All That Remains: I didn’t know any songs, but liked very much

Rotting Christ: great show

Heaven Shall Burn: Love this band now, Fortarock was better though

Katatonia: not the right type of music when you are very tired

Kreator: great as always, new songs are so good plus the classics

Twisted Sister: The rain ruined it…

Brainstorm: headache didn’t help me headbang here, but great show to start

Between The Buried And Me: One of my favorite bands currently, 3 songs of the amazing new album and one classic from Colors

Bullet For My Valentine: Like the band and the new CD, so it was fun

UDO: this was great, 30 min of heavy metal, one song linked to the previous, no blah blah blah, then a breath to 2 Accept classics

Down: Phil Anselmo is an amazing front man and the set list was full of the Nola classics - awesome

Saxon: Despite the classics and the new good album, it was boring – last time in the tend was much better

Iced Earth: Simply perfect - top 3 of this year

Slipknot: It doesn’t click to me, can’t like it. But the show was good and people around seemed happy

Pretty Maids: A good surprise, very nice Hard Rock

Hellyeah: didn’t like it at all, only listened to it while enjoying the sun

Parkway Drive: Full energy and great songs from the new CD

Stone Sour: Awesome show, the best songs and a Sabbath cover.

Ghost: In the MetalDome couple of years ago was much better

In Flames: Amazing, what an awesome band – so many powerful songs, my surprise was to hear Pinball Map – loved it!

Iron Maiden: not loud enough, boring crowed – people only knew Fear of The Dark – shame on you! On the other hand, what an amazing set list!

King Diamond – Best show of 2013, period!